Numerical analysis of centrally and eccentrically loaded strip footing on geotextile-reinforced sand

ABSTRACT: Geosynthetics have been proposed for use as a method of increasing the bearing capacity of a soil medium below a footing, and of reducing settlement. In this study, load-settlement behaviour of strip footings was investigated experimentally and numerically. The ultimate load of centrally and eccentrically loaded model strip footings resting on reinforced and unreinforced sand were determined under plane strain conditions. Sand was placed in a tank at a relative density of 0.74 to obtain general shear failure. Numerical simulation of the experimental set-up was carried out using Plaxis 2D software. Woven geotextile was used as the soil reinforcement. The Mohr–Coulomb material model was utilised to model the sand and load–settlement curves were obtained numerically. Using the reinforcement caused an increase in ultimate load in both numerical simulations and laboratory tests. The effect of changes in ultimate bearing capacity due to load eccentricity was investigated using both numerical and analytical methods.